Search Climate Insights Directory

This fact sheet details a JPY 4,000 million (USD 36 million) green bond issued by Japan Excellent, Inc. (JEI) on August 10, 2018, to fund certified green buildings.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa's development finance institutions (DFIs), specifically the IDC and DBSA, are constrained by their funding models and cannot sufficiently support labour-intensive manufacturing. The document proposes recapitalising these institutions with public funds, establishing an export-import (EXIM) bank, and adopting a funding model similar to Brazil's BNDES to drive job creation and industrial growth.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa's unemployment crisis is a macroeconomic phenomenon that cannot be solved through microeconomic interventions alone. The document criticizes the 'orthodox' macroeconomic framework adopted since 1996, characterizing both fiscal and monetary policies as contractionary and detrimental to job creation. It proposes a shift toward a developmental macroeconomic approach, featuring a significant fiscal stimulus and a restructured monetary policy mandate to prioritize employment and productive investment over strict inflation targeting.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa's monetary policy is 'anti-developmental' because it prioritizes price stability and inflation targeting over growth and employment. The author contends that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) relies on inappropriate tools, specifically interest rate manipulation, which discourages investment and contributes to de-industrialization and financialization. The brief proposes a fundamental shift toward a developmental monetary framework involving direct credit provision to productive sectors, the monetisation of fiscal operations, and closer coordination between the SARB and the National Treasury.

This fact sheet provides a global overview of high-speed rail (HSR) development, contrasting the extensive networks in Asia and Europe with the limited deployment in the United States. It details the history of HSR, the technical standards for speed, the economic and environmental benefits of rail over air and car travel, and the current status of projects in China, Japan, France, and the U.S.

This article summarizes the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR-Vegetation), which analyzes ozone distribution and trends across over 3,300 vegetated sites globally using three specific metrics (M12, AOT40, and W126) to assess impacts on vegetation.

A fact sheet detailing a JPY 10bn green bond issued by Mitsubishi Estate on June 26, 2018, to finance the construction of the Tokyo Tokiwabashi Project Tower-A.

This briefing, prepared by the United States for the twenty-sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), recommends that Future Earth be invited to become an Associate of the Institute under Article XI of the Agreement Establishing the IAI.

The United States of America recommends that the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) invite the international NGO Future Earth to become an Associate under Article XI of its Agreement. The briefing highlights Future Earth's global research network, its existing Memorandum of Understanding with the IAI signed in 2017, and their joint work through the Belmont Forum and various policy processes to advance sustainability and transdisciplinary research in the Americas.

A fact sheet detailing a JPY 24.5 billion green bond issued by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT) on February 27, 2018, to finance urban rail development in Japan.

NYK – Nippon Yusen Kaisha issued a JPY10bn green bond on 24 May 2018 to finance LNG-fuelled ships and related emission-reduction technologies. While the Climate Bonds Initiative included the bond in its database, it noted that LNG alone is insufficient for required emission cuts and emphasized the need for fuel efficiency optimisation and future-proofing vessels for renewable fuels to avoid fossil fuel lock-in.

This fact sheet details a JPY 8 billion green bond issued by Japan Retail Fund Investment Corp on May 25, 2018, to fund the acquisition of certified energy-efficient buildings.

This document provides an overview of climate and energy policies adopted since July 2017 across 25 major emitting countries and regions, supplementing a 2017 report on projected greenhouse gas emissions for 2030.

Minutes from a preparatory NeST-Africa meeting held on April 4, 2018, focusing on South Africa's role and the broader African context leading up to the Second United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA +40) in 2019. The meeting addressed challenges in South-South Cooperation (SSC), the evolving nature of international aid, the role of civil society in BRICS, and the development of a regional African SSC report.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law reviews the status of human rights, gender equality, and other social considerations within the negotiations for the Paris Agreement's implementation guidelines as of February 2018. It analyzes four key agenda items—Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Adaptation Communications, the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), and the Global Stocktake (GST)—detailing the proposals made by various countries and the extent to which these social dimensions were reflected in the co-facilitators' notes following COP-23.

This fact sheet by the Climate Bonds Initiative outlines key public sector green bond policy developments in 2017 and projections for 2018. It highlights the rise of sovereign green bonds, the establishment of regional and national guidelines in Asia and Africa, the growth of the green sukuk market in Malaysia, and various financial incentives provided by governments to lower issuance costs and accelerate the transition to low-carbon infrastructure.

This executive summary from the 2018 'Brown to Green' report analyzes the progress of G20 countries toward a low-carbon economy. It highlights a significant gap between current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the goals of the Paris Agreement, noting that G20 energy-related CO2 emissions began increasing again in 2017 and that 82% of the G20 energy supply remains dependent on fossil fuels.

This 2018 report by the Climate Bonds Initiative and IFC provides a comprehensive guide for emerging markets to develop green bond markets. It emphasizes the necessity of national guidance to ensure market integrity and alignment with climate goals, while highlighting the success of China's regulatory approach and the innovation of green sukuk in Malaysia and Indonesia. The report introduces a 'Green Bond Market Development Toolkit' to help regulators move from nascent to robust markets through structured milestones and capacity building.

This report summarizes progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, and the rule of law, while empowering indigenous peoples and local communities. It details developments in producer and consumer countries regarding illegal timber trade, the rising violence against environmental defenders, and the status of financial resources and data collection for land tenure security.

The 2018 Energy Progress Report, a joint publication by five custodian agencies, evaluates global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). It concludes that the world is not on track to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030, as current progress falls short across all four SDG7 targets: electricity access, clean cooking, energy efficiency, and the share of renewable energy.